biotech

Jared Friedman explains why hard tech and biotech companies face both market and technical risk, and why ambitious ideas can make recruiting, press, and fundraising easier even when building the product is difficult. He shares ways to demonstrate progress before a costly product is ready, including prototypes, simulations, small-scale experiments, presales, letters of intent, and customer contracts. He recommends proving demand and reducing technical risk as early as possible. He also advises founders to break a large fundraising goal into smaller rounds tied to concrete milestones.

Elizabeth Iorns explains how Science Exchange grew from her frustration with fragmented, inefficient scientific research into a curated marketplace for outsourced experiments. She discusses marketplace development, enterprise adoption, quality control, and how the Reproducibility Initiative helped open pharmaceutical partnerships. For biotech founders, she recommends testing the key scientific hypothesis early, building around shared commitment and strong execution, and treating milestones and risk reduction differently from software product development. She also describes growing opportunities in biotech and how scientists and non-scientists can build companies together.